Into the Fire

Can't Stop Me is the latest standalone novel from James Scott Bell. Not really a re-make of his original No Legal Grounds from 2007, Bell has kept that story with minor editing. 

Heather Trask is the daughter of Attorney Sam Trask and his wife Linda. She has a younger brother Max who's always looked up to his big sister. Her mom and dad expect her to be someone she's decided she isn't. At 17, she thinks she can make it in the music industry, that her voice and her friend Roz's band will take them to sell-out concerts and fans all over the world, let alone California. When Heather decides to quit school after playing a few gigs, she and Roz get a listen from a small-time music producer who talks big. Sam and Linda are frantic with concern for their wayward daughter who wants nothing to do with God and church and is hell-bent on pursuing her music career no matter what it takes.

Sam has a difficult case, although it shouldn't be, against a major insurance lawyer who mostly wins all of his cases. Sam's partner in their two-man office which they began together wants Sam to settle the case for the paltry sum the insurance company is offering. Sam can't justify the amount and won't quit on the couple who's seeking damages and the loss of future earnings for their daughter who through a misdiagnosis and treatment from an emergency room physician was blinded and lost the use of her left leg after being a champion figure skater and a local darling who was earning outstanding endorsements. Now she was wheelchair bound and has lost her zest for life. Her parents care for her and do all they can to encourage her, but they need substantial help. 

An old acquaintance from Sam's partying days in college contacts Sam at his private email address wanting to meet, making it sound like they're old friends when Sam can't place him. He's uncomfortable with the repeated emails but finally agrees to meet. 

From this moment on, everything that can go wrong does. Every. Thing. If you're a fan of major conflicts in novels, Can't Stop Me is the story for you. Honestly, I had to set the book down and leave it every now and then because the tension was so superbly done I couldn't take it in big doses! It made me angry and I could so relate to Sam Trask as he flailed emotionally under the pressure of life serving up incredible heartache and struggles. His Christianity is challenged as his family is involved in the psychological assault on their lives, and Bell did a masterful job of the faith-wavering and feelings of having to DO something to solve the multiplying crises that seem unstoppable, each one more horrifying than the last. This is the story of a man who's taken to the end of his ability to cope and yet with prayer and determination, he manages to keep going willing to give his life to end the injustice of what's taking place.

Very good book if you love the conflicted stories of man's afflictions and the struggles involved to solve them. 

Thank you, Lord, for the amazing skill in storytelling you've given James. Please continue to direct his writing and bless his endeavors in every area of publishing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.